Stretcher.



C. MOSES.

STRETCHER.

APPLICATION man JULY 5.1916.

1 206,020. Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

UNITED STATES PATENT enrich.

CHARLES MOSES, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

STRETCI-IER.

Application filed July 5, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES Mosns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have ingagement of the stretcher with the floor or ground.

Another object of my invention is to so construct the legs of a stretcher that they will freely permit the insertion of springs which will be operatively connected with ground-engaging shoes or feet.

A further object of my invention is to equip a stretcher with legs having resiliently controlled shoes thereon, said legs and shoes being of simple construction, durable and can be manufactured at a reasonably low cost.

These objects, and other advantageous ends which will be described hereinafter, I attain in the following manner, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stretcher equipped with legs and resiliently pressed shoes which are made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan. view of one of the legs constituting'my invention. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4: is a transverse sectional view taken on the line aa of Fig. 3.

Since each of the legs which are constructed in accordance with my invention are identical, in the following specification I will describe only one of the legs, and it will be understood that each of said legs acts in the same capacity.

The body portion 1 of the leg is formed in a general U-shape in elevation, having its ends 2 and 3 curved for a portion of their length, and provided with holes 4:. The body portion 1 has an elongated, fiat, central portion 5 which is provided with a central hole 6, and two holes 7 arranged at either side of the hole 6. A shoe 8 is preferably made flat, and has upturned smooth ends 9.

The shoe 8 has an upwardly projecting rod.

Specification of Letters-Patent.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916..

Serial No. 10?,515.

10 fixed thereto. This rod is screw-threaded at 11 at its upper end, and provided with two nuts 12 and 13. A spiral spring 1% rests on the upper face of the central portion 5 of the leg 1, and has its upper coiled end surrounding the rod 10 in the space between the two nuts 12 and 13, so that this coiled end is clamped and securely held to the rod 10 by said nuts. The lower coiled end of the spring 1 1 is secured to the central portion 5 by means of a rivet 15. With this construction it will. be understood that any relative movement between the portion 5 of the leg 1, and the shoe 8 in a direction to ward each other, will be resisted by the tension of the spring 14. In other words, the rod 10 will relatively slide through. the portion 5, and the spring 1 1 will be stretched. As means for preventing the sho 8 from turning with respect to the leg 1, and also for providing additional guiding means, I secure two lateral rods 16 and 17 to the shoe. These rods 16 and 17 slide through the holes 7, and are headed or flanged at their upper ends as shown at 18, so as to prevent them from pulling out of said holes. The legs thus formed are preferably secured to the under surface of the carrying rails 19 of the stretcher 20 by screws or other means which may be extended through the holes 4 in the leg portions 1, so that each of the carrying rails 10 is thus provided with two resiliently formed legs which are constructed in accordance with my invention. It will thus be observed that when the stretcher is rested upon the ground, the shoes 8 will first engage the ground, and the continued lowering of the weight of the stretcher will be resisted by the springs 14 and the shock will thus be absorbed.

My invention is especially valuable since it prevents jar to the occupant of the stretcher when the stretcher is lowered into contact with the ground or floor. The body portions 1 may be made of strap metal which is pressed into the form shown, and the construction is such that none of the parts of the improved form of leg can become detached or loose, since they are firmly held and confined to their respective positions. The springs 14 may be made of any desired strength to suit the conditions under which the stretcher is to be operated.

While I have described my invention as applied to a particular form of stretcher, it will be noted that it may be used in other ways if desired.

While I have described my invention as taking a particular form, it will be understood that the various parts of my invention may be changed without departing from the spirit thereof, and hence I do not limit myself to the precise construction set forth, but consider that I am at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The combination with a stretcher, of a main body portion constituting a leg, a ground-engaging shoe movable relatively to said leg, a rod projecting from said leg and forming a sliding connection between the leg and the shoe, a coiled spring having one end connected to said leg portion and its other end secured to said rod for gradually stopping the relative movement of said shoe toward the leg portion, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a stretcher, of a main body portion constituting a leg, a ground-engaging shoe movable relatively to said leg portion, means forming a sliding connection between the leg and the shoe, a spring connected to said leg portion and to said sliding means for gradually stopping the relative movement of said shoe toward said leg portion, and additional sliding means connected to said shoe and extending through said leg portion, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a stretcher, of a main body portion constituting a leg, a

groundengaging shoe movable relatively to said leg portion, a rod projecting upwardly from said shoe and slidable through said leg, a tension spring having one end connected to said leg and the other end connected to said upwardly projecting rod, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a stretcher, of a main body portion constituting a le a ground-engaging shoe movable relatively to said leg portion, a rod projecting upwardly from said shoe and slidable through said leg, a tension spring having one end connected to said leg and the other end connected to said upwardly projecting rod, and lateral rods located either side of said first rod, said lateral rods being connected to said shoe and slidably engaging said leg, said lateral rods preventing relative turning movement between the leg and the shoe and forming additional support for the latter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES MOSES.

lVitnesses:

RHODA E. GILLIEs, GHAs. E. Po'r'rs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

